


Stuck

by conceptstage



Series: Critical Fiction [6]
Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-12
Updated: 2018-08-12
Packaged: 2019-06-26 12:55:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 601
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15663639
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/conceptstage/pseuds/conceptstage
Summary: Beau and Caleb are stuck





	Stuck

**Author's Note:**

> Originally posted to my tumblr. Come find me there, I'm concept-stage.

“I blame you,” Beau hissed, though the effect was dulled when it sounded like she was talking with her mouth full.

“This isn’t my fault,” Caleb said, his voice quieter but had the same garbled quality. Beau put both hands flat against his chest and tried to push him away, but the skin of their cheeks, stuck together by the effects of a tanglefoot bag, pulled and pinched and did not give. “Ow!”Caleb exclaimed. “Ow, ow, ow- stop that,  _ shiße _ , that hurts.”

“Good. Maybe next time you’ll think twice about opening something without letting someone check it for traps first.”

“Nott checked it for traps, she didn’t see anything.”

“Fine, maybe next time you’ll wait until someone sober checks for traps.”

“No one on this team is sober.”

She was quiet for a moment before responding. “Fair.” 

They had been alone in this room for hours and it was driving them both up the wall. The others had left, stifling giggles poorly, to find something that would separate them. Jester’s last words to them had been ‘Don’t kill each other’ and the only reason Beau hadn’t done it already is because the idea of being adhered to a corpse weirded her out a little.

Beau had leapt at Caleb, hoping to knock him out of the way of a blast, and their cheeks had gotten glued together in the fall and she was never going to get that crap out of her hair. She’d probably have to shave it all off again. Which, now that she thought about it, would look badass. She might shave it off anyway.

While she was imagining how cool she’d look with a shaved head, Caleb cleared his throat. “I want to thank you, by the way. I don’t think I have yet.”

“Thank me? What the fuck for?”

“For trying to save me, I suppose. You thought it was rigged to explode and you put yourself between me and the blast. Thank you for that, even though it landed us in our current predicament.”

“Is this your roundabout way of pushing the blame off on me again?”

He sighed heavily. “No, Beauregard, this is sincere gratitude.”

“Oh, well, in that case… you don’t need to thank me. I can take more punishment than you can, I don’t mind being a meat shield every now and then. It’s what I do.”

“ _ Ja _ , I have noticed that. You put yourself between us and danger very frequently and often you head the danger off before it can reach us. You are hurt a lot and I never really thought about why until today. Why do you do that?”

“Well, like I said. I can take more punishment than you can.”

“Yes, but it is not unlimited. You cannot take all the pain onto yourself like than and expect to come out the other side alive.”

She was quiet for a moment before punching him in the arm. “So this  _ is _ your way of putting the blame on me!”

“Ow! I will never thank you for anything ever again.”

“Good, it’s creepy.”

They were both quiet again for a long time, shifting frequently to try and find a comfortable position against each other, to no success. Finally, Caleb broke the silence. “Though, while we are on the subject, it was absolutely your fault.”

“I knew it! You fucker, this has ‘Caleb fucked up’ written all over it!”

They continued their argument until the rest of the Nein returned with a salve that would free them. In twelve hours. Neither of them ever spoke of that night ever again.


End file.
